Pet Glucose Meters vs. Human Glucose Meters

by Robin

Two months ago, my 13-year-old male cat Zulu was diagnosed as having feline diabetes. Zulu is a beautiful long haired manx. Now, after many visits to my veterinarian to do glucose monitoring, it was suggested that I might want to use a home monitor. I have done literally hours of research to find what meter would be best suited for my cat and have come away with two points:1.) Only use a pet meter for the most accurate results.2.) If you are to use human meters, choose one that can utilize the smallest blood sample such as, Freesyle Lite.

Can someone help me sort this out please?

Thank you for your response,Robin

Dear Robin

Thank you for writing in with your question. I recommend home monitoring for all of my feline diabetes patients, and have always used human glucometers in my practice and so have my clients.

Human glucose meters have the benefit of easy access to additional test strips and batteries from your local pharmacy. There are many different models on the market these days and it is easy to find one that only requires a very small blood sample for testing.

The other thing to consider heavily when purchasing a glucometer is the cost of the strips. Just recently, I realized how much more I was paying for strips than I needed to and ended up purchasing a new glucometer just so I could start buying the cheaper strips. The savings in the price of strips has already paid for the new glucometer.

The most important thing, however, is to measure your chosen glucometer's accuracy. You should bring the meter you choose to your veterinarian's office and ask them to compare the results from your meter with their own meter, or to test a blood sample on your meter and have it compared with an outside laboratory's results.

Keep in mind that all glucometers are going to vary at least slightly from one another, even a dedicated pet glucose meter, so whichever version you choose to use for monitoring your cat’s diabetes, you should verify your reading results with your veterinarian’s results, but even if they are a bit different, as long as they are consistently the same difference apart, it will not be a problem.